


Chance Encounter... Or Was It?

by Moonshoes_Potter



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: Episode: s02e10 Nice Jacket, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Pre-Slash, lots of hand holding, michael is a scared boi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-16 21:16:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16502843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonshoes_Potter/pseuds/Moonshoes_Potter
Summary: Dirk bumps into a panicking Michael Assistent, calms him down, and drags him along to escape Blackwing.





	Chance Encounter... Or Was It?

So many things were happening. Well, there were a lot of Things happening too, but Dirk didn’t have time to deduce them out, so for now they’re just regular things. 

He ran through Blackwing, desperately trying not to be shot by the gun-wielding knights, when he crashed into someone who seemed to be doing the same thing. It was a man. He was breathing very rapidly and had a panicked look in his eyes. That was reasonable, Dirk admitted, considering the situation. 

The man in question kept breathing fast and short, despite having stopped running. He seemed unable to do anything besides stare at Dirk like he was an animal that had escaped from the zoo. His mouth tried to form words, but the air was moving too fast through his lungs to make any noise. Dirk finally realized what was happening; this man was having an anxiety attack of some sort. 

Having had a few attacks himself, Dirk had a general idea of what to do. First, he planted his hands on the man’s shoulders. They were quite warm. The man flinched a little bit didn’t pull away, which Dirk took as a good sign. 

“Alright,” Dirk was a bit out of his depth, and even though that was where he usually found himself in this line of work, this felt like a different kind of stress. Much less universey, much more personal. He decided that this was much worse. “Sir, you’ve got to breathe.”

The man nodded weakly but only managed to deepen his inhalations, not slow them down much. Dirk started exaggerating his own breathing in the hope that this man would catch on. After several repetitions, he managed to soothe the man to feeling only mild terror. 

The sound of gunshots pulled Dirk back to Blackwing. The two of them had slid onto the floor during that whole mess, which both had just become aware of. The scared man in front of Dirk blinked a few times and stood up, brushing himself off and looking mortified. Or perhaps just plain horrified. 

“What’s your name, sir?” Dirk asked as calmly as he could while being in mortal danger. Why was he being so nice to this Blackwing guy? Did he feel bad? It definitely wasn’t because of his pretty eyes. No, ma’am. 

“Mi… Michael,” he stuttered. He was staring at Dirk again with more recognition in his eyes now. “Michael Assistent. And you’re—”

“Yes, I’m Dirk Gently. Hello.” Dirk held out a hand. Michael didn’t shake it, he just kept staring.

“How did you get here? We— we’re on lockdown. How…” Michael finally looked away and ran a hand through his hair. He stumbled a bit. Dirk grabbed his arm to keep him upright. 

“Those are some very good questions for another time — when we’re not here,” Dirk dragged Michael to the side of the room. “Listen, there is a lot going on right now. I need you to take me to Project Moloch. He will fix everything.”

That only seemed to make Michael more confused. “The guy in the coma? You’re not making any sense, man.” 

Dirk huffed in frustration. “Look, there’s no time for this. We’re under attack from knights with guns, while my friends are back in the fantasy world keeping a portal open and trying not to be killed by an evil witch mum from Montana, who can only be defeated if we get Project Moloch back into the pool I came out of. So can we _please_ skip the pleasantries and get to Project Moloch as soon as possible?”

When Michael did nothing aside from flounder at the outburst, Dirk, still riled up, grabbed Michael’s arm and pulled him down the hallway with the least gunfire. Michael didn’t protest but he also didn’t do a very good job of keeping up with Dirk. 

They passed by a room with a large door, almost like that of a giant elevator. A symbol was printed on the front; this was the room of a subject. Dirk got that feeling he usually gets when the universe wants him to do something. Problem is, it never tells him _what_ it wants him to do.

Dirk settled on asking Michael to open the door, much to Michael’s confusion. 

“Project Moloch is that way!” he managed to say, pointing in the opposite direction.

“I have a feeling about this room. Open the door,” Dirk repeated. 

“That is a secure room!” Michael shouted. 

Dirk was fed up. He gripped the poor lieutenant (according to his badge) by the lapels and spoke close to his face in a voice shaking with anger and fear, “Open the damn door. Now.” 

Michael nodded weakly. Once Dirk released his hold, Michael fumbled with a key card by a pad of some sort and the door slid open. It was Mona! Dirk exclaimed her name in delight before he saw the soldiers with guns.

Suddenly, Mona was a cannon with a lit fuse. Dirk pulled Michael to the ground by his hand, just in time to avoid the explosion. Deafening noise reverberated throughout their bodies and echoed around the room. They couldn’t see because their eyes were closed and their noses on the floor. Dust and rubble rained down on their backs.

When the explosions stopped, the two men could now hear the ringing in their ears much more clearly. They reached out, grasping at each other’s shoulders to confirm that they were still alive. Dirk dusted himself off once he stood up. 

“Hello, Dirk!” Mona popped up behind him. She had probably disguised as a piece of wall or ceiling. “What are you doing here?”

While Dirk got Mona caught up on everything that had happened (everything he could summarize in thirty seconds, at least), Michael began pacing and muttering to himself. He turned around when he heard an engine revving to see Dirk on a motorcycle, looking at him expectantly. 

“Well, get on, then! We haven’t got all day!”

Michael approached, hesitant. He swung a leg over the motorcycle and awkwardly placed his hands on Dirk’s shoulders, but quickly wrapped them around his waist. It became clear that Dirk loved to drive fast but didn’t have a whole lot of experience doing so. Michael hung on for dear life. 

They arrived at Project Moloch’s room in record time. Dirk hopped off the bike and Michael did the same. Mona reappeared, went up to the door, and opened it with ease. Michael cautiously followed the other two into the room, where Project Moloch lay as peacefully as ever. Dirk ripped out his IV and hefted him onto the wheelchair that Mona had just transformed into. 

Dirk began to push the wheelchair back out the door, but Michael reached out to stop him. Dirk looked over his shoulder and down at the hand on his arm. 

“I… you--” Michael stumbled over the words. He hadn’t planned this far ahead; what should he say? “You can’t go back the way we came; this place is a warzone!”

Dirk rolled his eyes. “‘You can’t go back the way we came; this place is a warzone!’” He mocked. Then he furrowed his brow. “What do you mean ‘you’? Aren’t you coming?”

Michael was taken aback. “You want me to go with you? You trust me?” Was Dirk really this nice? He couldn’t have been planning something malicious -- Dirk never planned anything.

Dirk squinted in thought, one hand on his hip. “You know, I don’t know. You work at Blackwing -- which, I’ll be honest, not a great start in the trust department -- but I’ve got a feeling about you.” His eyes glinted with that mischief he always had whenever he was thinking about a case, though Michael didn’t know what it meant as he’d never seen this look before. He had to admit kind of liked it. “It’s hard to explain. Basically, it feels as though the universe wants you to come along with me. Something tells me you wouldn’t mind so much.” The corners of Dirk’s mouth twitched upwards.

Michael pursed his lips but something about that face made him unable to hold back the truth. “Honestly, I hate working here, man. They are so weird,” He confessed.

Dirk beamed. “Well, then let’s go!”

They ran out of the room together, Dirk pushing the wheelchair and Michael navigating back to the Rowdy 3’s cell. Michael fought to keep calm through the sounds of gunfire and blood rushing in his ears. They finally arrived, rolling up to the glowing pool.

“And it’s flickering. Lovely,” Dirk observed exasperatedly.

Michael hushed him. “I think I heard something…” He squinted at the doorway they had come through. Friedkin was there, pointing a gun at them from the shadows. As dim-witted as he may have been, he was an excellent soldier.

“Dirk…” he whispered. None of them moved. Michael fought to keep his voice steady. “We need cover, quickly. On my signal, catch Project Moloch. Mona, can you become... a barrier of some kind? Once we’re through that… thing, you jump in after. Okay?” The wheelchair creaked ever so quietly in response. “Alright. One, two… three!”

All in the same instant, Dirk picked up Francis Cardenas, Mona became a solid brick wall, Friedkin fired off several rounds, and Michael froze where he was. The loud noises were too much; he couldn’t do anything. Everything happened too slowly and also too fast. What was probably seconds but felt like minutes passed. He just stood there like an idiot, hyperventilating and staring at the wall that was Mona until he felt a fist curl around the fabric on the back of his jacket. Then he fell into the water.

The world spun. They were caught in a weird phase between liquid and air, drowning and breathing and spinning… and then they were on the ground.

Michael kept his eyes closed. He could smell plants and felt cold stone on his back. He didn’t want to see where he’d gone, he just wanted to stay where he could believe he was.

Dirk shifted beside Michael, forcing him to open his eyes and face reality. He found himself unable to speak at the sight before him: some sort of rainbow monster, Todd and Amanda Brotzman, a cartoon-looking witch, and a young boy wearing a crown and a hospital gown. Was it— no, it couldn’t be. 

“Are you The Boy?” Dirk asked the child. “Francis Cardenas?”

Michael looked at Dirk in disbelief. “What the hell are you talking about, man?” He could feel his breathing speed up. His efforts to slow it went ineffective; holding all his worries in as they had run through Blackwing was coming back to bite him. 

The kid — Project Moloch, apparently — waved the witch away with the sound of a distant train whistle. The only sound for a few moments was Michael’s gasping. Dirk had to do something. He didn’t know what, so he did the first thing that came to mind: he reached out and laced Michael’s fingers with his own. 

It kind of worked. Michael stopped hyperventilating. He stopped breathing altogether, actually. Dirk looked him in the eye and said slowly, “Everything’s alright now. The Boy is here, Susie Boreton is gone; you’re safe now.” Michael nodded and exhaled, though his eyes were still saucers. 

Todd and Amanda had befuddled expressions on their faces. Dirk glanced at them, then at Michael as he said, “I promise I’ll explain everything later. Right now…” He trailed off and took a step towards Francis, who looked at him expectantly. 

Dirk didn’t let go of Michael’s hand. He began walking with a limp. Only then did Michael realize Dirk’s thigh was bleeding profusely. 

“Oh god, you’ve been shot!” Luckily, Michael had seen Francis heal Todd from whatever the witch had done to him. “Can you fix him?” He asked, a pleading note in his voice. 

Francis smiled and gestured with his hand again. Dirk sighed in relief, squeezing Michael’s hand as thanks. There was still blood all over his pants, though that was hardly their worst concern at the moment. 

The four adults stood in front of Francis. He gave each of them their gifts and sent them away one by one until Michael was the last remaining.

Francis smiled kindly. “Your life is riddled with fear because of some bad decisions; don’t let them control you any longer. Stay with Dirk. He and his friends will bring you the happiness and peace you deserve. When you go back to the real world, you’ll find something you’ve never had before.”

“What?”

“A family.” Francis waved his hand one last time. Michael’s eyes drifted closed and the floor fell out from under him. 

~~~~~

Once Tina, Sherlock, and Farah were all asleep in their respective hospital beds for the night, Todd and Amanda pulled Dirk and Michael aside. The two men had been close to each other the entire evening, always within arm’s reach and never saying anything. 

“Okay, things have settled down. Now spill,” Todd demanded of Dirk.

Michael and Dirk shared a look, then Dirk spoke up, “This is Lieutenant Michael Assistant. He worked at Blackwing, but he ran into me during the knights’ invasion and led me to Mona and Francis. I asked if he wanted to come with me and he said he would.”

Todd shook his head in disbelief. “You asked a _Blackwing_ guy to go with you? What were you thinking, Dirk?”

“I had a feeling,” Dirk said after a moment, “Like the universe wanted him to come.” Michael was thankful Dirk didn’t mention his anxiety attacks.

“Of course you did.” Todd pinched the bridge of his nose and turned away to cool down. 

Amanda held out a hand. Whatever doubts she had were kept behind her friendly smile. “Nice to meet you, Michael. I’m Amanda.”

Michael already knew that. He shook her hand anyway. They began discussing neutral topics, like sports and music. They’d had enough drama for one day. 

During their pleasant conversation, Michael glanced over Amanda’s shoulder at Dirk, who was trying to ease Todd’s worries. Dirk met Michael’s eyes and for the first time in a long while, Michael felt like everything would turn out okay.


End file.
